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Photo Credit: The Ottawa Citizen[/caption]
Over 60 active transportation advocates, organizations, and community leaders from across the Nation’s Capital took part in Ecology Ottawa’s Complete Streets Strategy Forum held on March 28th, 2014. The one-day event featured a panel discussion from Councillors Egli, Chernushenko, Fleury, Holmes, and Wilkinson, followed by an interactive strategy session whereby participants discussed ways to help ensure that walking, cycling, and public transit would continue to be prioritized in the city.
The first half of this report provides a summary of the councillor’s panel discussion. The second part of this report is a working strategy that has been compiled from the feedback received from the participants at the Forum. The strategy has been broken down into four key opportunities where community organizing and engagement is needed in order to move the Complete Streets discussion from policy into action.
The four key opportunities are:
1. Complete Streets policy: While the adoption of a Complete Streets policy in the City’s Transportation Master Plan is a step in the right direction, we need to ensure that the policy contains the 10 key elements of a comprehensive complete streets policy, as established by the National Complete Streets Coalition (see appendix A). This includes language that outlines specific next steps for policy implementation, as well as the development of concrete and measureable performance measures.
2. 2014 Municipal Election: With new elected officials coming into office this year, we need to ensure that all candidates are knowledgeable and ready to prioritize Complete Streets.
3. Budget: For the 2015 fiscal year, the City needs to adopt a budget that supports the Complete Streets policy and implementation.
4. Streets: We need to mobilize community support around specific streets that have already been designated by the City for work to be completed, and would benefit from the elements of a good Complete Street design. This includes streets that will be reconstructed for either sewer/ water renewal, as well as ones that are included in Transit-Oriented Development Plans, Community Design Plans, or the Downtown Moves study.
Under each opportunity, we have included tasks that individuals and groups can take leadership roles on within their communities. This strategy is intended to help communities identify opportunities, work together, and begin to benefit from having safe and accessible streets in each neighbourhood.
If you would like to be involved in any of the tasks outlined in the draft Strategy Report please email [email protected]
Download PDF:
https://www.scribd.com/doc/228213608
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